Recap

Somehow we managed to fit my parents and my brother in our lil "pied a terre" in Georgetown for the weekend. I threw my first "official" dinner party as well with my parents and my in-laws on Saturday night! --- meaning, we busted out the fine china and crystal glasses, which we then had to spend the better part of the evening washing by hand. It's tiring playing house!

We did cheat a teensy bit on the main dish: we served a rack of lamb that comes herbed and ready to cook from Trader Joe's (is that a total travesty? At least the meat is free-range and organic).

We continued the gluttonous weekend by having dim sum on Sunday at Fortune (Seven Corners, VA) - HIGHLY recommend it, have been there 3 or 4 times now and each time I come away from it I am happily stuffed. If you plan on going, be sure to make a reservation, it gets packed.

I also went to see the new James Bond which I really liked (plunk me down in front of mostly any spy movie and I will be content, especially if it includes Daniel Craig, shirtless). Maybe not as good as Casino Royale, but still worth seeing! If you're a fan of Daniel Craig, you should check out the movie Layercake as well.

And then we had dinner once again at Brasserie Beck, this time with the dozen usual suspects in tow, to celebrate a birthday (Happy birthday hubby!). And thank you to everyone who came out, even though it was a weeknight. You guys are pretty much irreplaceable. When I was a teenager I watched Friends a lot and thought, "when I'm in my 20's I'm going to have a really great group of friends too." And I do!

Also a BIG THANK YOU to a certain someone who offered us two bottles of Perrier-Jouet even though she couldn't be there with us (you know who you are, and you are my hero!).

I've started taking an art class at the Art League School in Alexandria. It's painting with pastels, something I haven't done diligently since high school, and I'm glad to report that my first project, still life with vase and mandarin orange, doesn't look like a big poo! I may not be Monet but at least it's three hours every week that I can set aside and devote to me. It's been a long time since I've had an activity where I end up getting lost in it and losing track of time.

I've also started volunteering for Homeward Trails Animal Rescue to fill the gaping hole that is "not having a dog in my daily life." Someday I will have one..or two, or three...and two cats - one will be named Cleopatra (Cleo for short), the other Leopold (Leo for short).

It's somewhat hard on the soul to volunteer at the dog adoption events, because there are so many good dogs that need good homes, and if I had the resources I would take them all in (I'm an equal-opportunity dog lover).

Also I woke up on November 5th feeling really good...because for the first time since I was 18, I was super super proud of my country (and my home state of North Carolina!).

Much happiness to Mr. and Mrs. Hall (or is that Mr. and Mrs. Reddick?)

Our friends got married in a little garden in Chevy Chase, MD on November 1st. Everything was so lovely, and the vows were funny and touching. It seems even the Man Upstairs was on call to paint the leaves the same shade as the bride's bouquet and ensure the weather was cooperative.

Congratulations to V&D!